Nicholl 2021

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  • Originally posted by Bono View Post

    Okay, I don't think it's life or death, but sure. So are these all new readers who never read any of these scripts before the Final round? I assume it was more they get in a room and discuss which should move forward or the scores have already decided? Are they getting new eyes on the spec each round? Averaging the scores.

    I always assumed most screenplay contest they just released the winners in sections QT, SEMIS, FINALIST, WINNER, but that was decided all together.
    Answering the questions first:

    Yes, new readers and judges for every script in every round at Nicholl.
    Discussion in a room only occurs after Nicholl Committee members have read the finalist scripts.
    Yes, new eyes in each and every round.
    At the Nicholl it's not possible to decide what is what all together.

    Think the process remains similar to what it was while I was at Nicholl:

    In the first round every script was read twice. About 1000, more or less, were read a third time. This was done by paid readers. Best two of three scores were tallied to determine which scripts advanced.

    About 5% of entries advanced to the quarterfinal round. Each script was read three times by a subset of the first round readers. Best five of six scores were tallied to determine which scripts advanced,

    About 150 scripts advanced to the semifinal round. Each script was read four times by volunteer Academy members. Best eight of ten scores, but including at least three Academy member semifinal scores, determined the scripts that advanced to the final round.

    For most years during my time, about ten scripts advanced to the finals. During my last several years, the Nicholl Committee decided to allow from 10 to 15 scripts to reach the finals (though the number tended to be closer to 10 than to 15).

    Due to the scoring tallies after each round, the first, quarterfinal and semifinal rounds occupied different calendar periods. No readers or judges were assigned a script they had a read previously. As much as possible, we attempted to assign scripts so that no readers or judges would read a writer they had read previously. (By "previously," I mean in any year, not just the current competition.)

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    • Just an ending to my story... did not make Finals but my check came the next day... so it all worked out. Honestly I'm still shocked the script made it as far as it did.

      As my lifetime earnings now make me ineligible for the future, I just want to say that I think the Nicholl is a fantastic competition and if I could, I would keep entering every year. I submitted 4 of my specs over 5 years or so and I made SF twice. Both those placements not only led to a few interested emails, but more importantly they gave me validation on projects at times that I critically needed it.
      Write, rite, wright... until you get it RIGHT.

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      • Originally posted by asteven50 View Post
        Just an ending to my story... did not make Finals but my check came the next day... so it all worked out. Honestly I'm still shocked the script made it as far as it did.

        As my lifetime earnings now make me ineligible for the future, I just want to say that I think the Nicholl is a fantastic competition and if I could, I would keep entering every year. I submitted 4 of my specs over 5 years or so and I made SF twice. Both those placements not only led to a few interested emails, but more importantly they gave me validation on projects at times that I critically needed it.
        Congrats on the double-win! I managed to make the Top 50 (would love to know where exactly), no cheque on the horizon as of yet. The Nicholl still stands as the premier comp, and rightly so...

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        • Nicholl winners announced.

          Scroll article for the loglines. Congrats to them!

          AMPAS Sets Winners Of 2021 Academy Nicholl Fellowships – Deadline

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          • Loglines for the 2021 Fellows' scripts (two historical-based and two that sound more in a thriller vein, contrary to conventional wisdom about what typically is chosen as a "Nicholl script")

            Haley Hope Bartels (Los Angeles, CA), Pumping Black

            After a desperate cyclist takes up a team doctor’s dangerous offer, he seems on course to win the Tour de France. But as the race progresses and jealous teammates, suspicious authorities, and his own paranoia close in, he must take increasingly dark measures to protect both his secrets and his lead.

            Karin delaPeña Collison (West Hollywood, CA), Coming of Age

            In 1965 Britain, Charlotte, a sheltered, studious schoolgirl, lands on a British Farce tour her mother stage manages, where private tutoring by company members replaces her formal schooling, with surprising success, and she experiences a Lolita-like flirtation in the morally wobbly era of Free Love, which leads both her and her mother to ‘come of age.’

            Byron Hamel (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), Shade of the Grapefruit Tree

            When a severely abused white boy befriends his sci-fi obsessed Black landlady, his fantasy of becoming a robot empowers him to recklessly confront his murderous stepdad.

            R.J. Daniel Hanna (Los Angeles, CA), Shelter Animal

            A fiery, female prison trustee working at the county animal shelter finds purpose rehabilitating an abused pit bull, but her attempts to rally employees and the broader community for shelter reform puts her own freedom at risk.

            Laura Kosann (New York, NY), The Ideal Woman

            Set in American suburbia during the Cuban Missile Crisis: A 1960’s ex-actress and housewife finds her house-of-cards world begin to tumble as she continues to be pitted against two identities.

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            • There is one idea in here, that I literally don't understand in logline form. This is the key to execution over concept right there. If they queried the idea, I don't think they would get many requests. It's the right idea to win a contest like this and help the writer get read.

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              • I wouldn't read any of those if you paid me. I'm sure they're well written. But good lord, what a tedious depress-o-rama.

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                • I'm curious whether anyone here who placed has received any read requests. In prior years as a QF, I got around four or five. This year, one.

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                  • Originally posted by Rando View Post
                    I'm curious whether anyone here who placed has received any read requests. In prior years as a QF, I got around four or five. This year, one.
                    Do not wait to be found, query with the Nicholl placement as the cherry on top of a great logline.

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                    • Originally posted by Rando View Post
                      I'm curious whether anyone here who placed has received any read requests. In prior years as a QF, I got around four or five. This year, one.
                      Yeah, I got requests from Zero Grav and Lee Stobby. I'm happy with my current management so I turned them down, but it was still cool. I also got one from a very well-respected indie producer who is currently reading.
                      Write, rite, wright... until you get it RIGHT.

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by asteven50 View Post
                        Lee Stobby
                        That's the one I got.

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                        • Hi, I'm Bill, a new member planning to enter the Nicholl. I have to ask Greg Beal, you wrote, "For most years during my time, about ten scripts advanced to the finals." Are you no longer the Director/in charge of the competition? I remember the name Joan Wai, and Susannah Grant.
                          After reading the log lines of the ten finalists, what struck me was "Originality." "Are the premise and story new or fresh for you?"

                          (1) Hamel: When a severely abused white boy befriends his sci-fi obsessed black landlady, his fantasy of becoming a robot empowers him
                          (2) Collison, In the sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll world of 1965 Britain, 14 year-old English, parochial school girl Charlotte... is forced to confront her sexuality when her stage-manager mother, (Coming of Age)
                          (3) Ouzas, "young English soldier in World War I falls in love with the German prisoner he’s interrogating.(but she's not a Nazi) (Third Man)

                          One judge marks down "genre" scripts (horror, maybe sci-fi) as less original because they take "rules" from other movies in the genre, and (my impression) he's read so many scripts, he anxious for a concept that isn't like anything else he's read (ie, fresh)

                          Again, MY impression, this seems to lower the stakes. Doesn't every 14 year-old girl eventually confront her sexuality? Most spec scripts are written with A-list actors in mind, which isn't a 14 year old parochial school girl.

                          (2) Can we still write about real-life people? The cop on a bicycle, Rusten Sheskey, who shot Jacob Blake seven times, leading to the Rittenhouse, should have been charged with attempted murder for shots #3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Once the suspect has two bullets in his back, it's time to stop shooting. This has to be "highly original" because the jury just came back with five "not guilty".

                          (3) Budget. Many movies have to be cut back (not The Avengers, obviously.) All ten finalists seem to be low-budget indy fare.

                          I have several pages of quotes from judges and notes from previous years. I'm not saying that a mid-budget Drama that follows a single charismatic, protagonist with layers is the only way to get past the first round... but it helps if you're aware of some of this before you choose a concept.

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                          • Originally posted by Satriales View Post
                            I wouldn't read any of those if you paid me. I'm sure they're well written. But good lord, what a tedious depress-o-rama.
                            Let me add this while I think of it. Women don't like scripts that place women in inferior roles. That's why many women went into screenwriting, to create movies that show women going through a character arc, of not wanting to date, not wanting to give up freedom in an old-fashioned marriage, wanting to crash through a glass ceiling, the emotions of bonding with a child....

                            A lot of men automatically think, "I wouldn't read any of those stories. Tedious and depressing, not based on action, destruction, getting into a dog fight with an all-powerful enemy and putting them down hard." (ie, Michael Corleone at the end of "The Godfather", James Bond in "Thunderball.")

                            The Nicholl recognizes the contributions and desires of women writers, the stories they create, stories about meeting their Ideal Male and falling madly, hopelessly in love with them, losing them, realizing that their Ideal Male falls short, especially as his body fails due to normal aging. So, yeah, half the intended audience doesn't want to read the winning Nicholl scripts, find them boring because the Protagonist isn't running away from Michael Myers and screaming in terror... but that doesn't mean their scripts aren't better than yours.

                            Under the heading "Meaning and Magic" (worth a lot of points in the judging) Does this script genuinely make you want to keep reading? Are the themes of the story thought-provoking, across genres? Is the story “about something” that might spark discussion among friends? (Judging criteria from official site)

                            What is a thought-provoking theme that is also original? If you have the kind of curious mind that loves exploring opinions that challenge and contradict your own, it's easier to get points in this category. Put another way, the Nicholl WANTS stories with ideas that would get you kicked off of many websites. Ideas that challenge the existing power structure. Bringing criminal charges against Harvey Weinstein, with more Academy nominations that anyone except John Williams. Asking why systemic racism and terrorist attacks still happen. A Nicholl entry is a chance to argue a position that won't be acceptable on the Internet for another ten years. Holding the police accountable. Jury nullification because putting a man in prison for the rest of his life has a ripple effect that destroys many lives.

                            Some of this year's winners were set in the Sixties, and showed how current ideas were violently opposed. (Missing this year: Free Speech on the Internet, the obligations of Facebook to remove posts and suspend posters who have opinions contradicted by "the experts." )

                            Our constitution gave rules for slavery in post-Colonial America. The issues that are thought-provoking today also come with opponents who think censorship is a really cool way to keep us silent. Try to embrace depressing stories about the role of women in 20th Century America because many of their stories are horribly depressing. Thanks.

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                            • Originally posted by VoltarReturns View Post

                              Let me add this while I think of it. Women don't like scripts that place women in inferior roles. That's why many women went into screenwriting, to create movies that show women going through a character arc, of not wanting to date, not wanting to give up freedom in an old-fashioned marriage, wanting to crash through a glass ceiling, the emotions of bonding with a child....

                              A lot of men automatically think, "I wouldn't read any of those stories. Tedious and depressing, not based on action, destruction, getting into a dog fight with an all-powerful enemy and putting them down hard." (ie, Michael Corleone at the end of "The Godfather", James Bond in "Thunderball.")

                              The Nicholl recognizes the contributions and desires of women writers, the stories they create, stories about meeting their Ideal Male and falling madly, hopelessly in love with them, losing them, realizing that their Ideal Male falls short, especially as his body fails due to normal aging. So, yeah, half the intended audience doesn't want to read the winning Nicholl scripts, find them boring because the Protagonist isn't running away from Michael Myers and screaming in terror... but that doesn't mean their scripts aren't better than yours.

                              Under the heading "Meaning and Magic" (worth a lot of points in the judging) Does this script genuinely make you want to keep reading? Are the themes of the story thought-provoking, across genres? Is the story “about something” that might spark discussion among friends? (Judging criteria from official site)

                              What is a thought-provoking theme that is also original? If you have the kind of curious mind that loves exploring opinions that challenge and contradict your own, it's easier to get points in this category. Put another way, the Nicholl WANTS stories with ideas that would get you kicked off of many websites. Ideas that challenge the existing power structure. Bringing criminal charges against Harvey Weinstein, with more Academy nominations that anyone except John Williams. Asking why systemic racism and terrorist attacks still happen. A Nicholl entry is a chance to argue a position that won't be acceptable on the Internet for another ten years. Holding the police accountable. Jury nullification because putting a man in prison for the rest of his life has a ripple effect that destroys many lives.

                              Some of this year's winners were set in the Sixties, and showed how current ideas were violently opposed. (Missing this year: Free Speech on the Internet, the obligations of Facebook to remove posts and suspend posters who have opinions contradicted by "the experts." )

                              Our constitution gave rules for slavery in post-Colonial America. The issues that are thought-provoking today also come with opponents who think censorship is a really cool way to keep us silent. Try to embrace depressing stories about the role of women in 20th Century America because many of their stories are horribly depressing. Thanks.

                              This reads like a fever dream, quite frankly. It also contains many preposterous leaps to conclusion and it’s impossible to unwind them all. Also, love the broad generalizations when it comes to gender. That was my favorite part, the idea that dudes just want slasher gore while women want thoughtful, elevated fare. Just insanity.

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by Satriales View Post


                                This reads like a fever dream, quite frankly. It also contains many preposterous leaps to conclusion and it’s impossible to unwind them all. Also, love the broad generalizations when it comes to gender. That was my favorite part, the idea that dudes just want slasher gore while women want thoughtful, elevated fare. Just insanity.
                                This I agree with, and also, with respect to VoltarReturns's post that inspired the reply, why all the political commentary? It does not belong here. VoltarReturns, your post reads like the disjointed rant of a male-centric ego desperately attempting political correctness.
                                “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

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